How many total seats are in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026?

1. Exactly 435 voting seats — the baseline fact

The core, incontrovertible number is 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives; every major public tracker and election preview for 2026 repeats that figure and notes that all 435 districts are on the ballot in November 2026 ^{[1] [2] [4]}.

2. Why 435 — historical and practical context offered by reporting

Reporting around the 2026 elections treats 435 as the fixed baseline for apportionment and majorities: a party needs 218 seats for a simple majority when the chamber is full ^[5]. Sources emphasize that seats are apportioned among the states by the decennial census (the 2020 census for the 2026 cycle), which determines how the 435 voting seats are divided state by state ^{[6] [1]}.

3. Non‑voting delegates: six extra voices often mentioned but not full votes

Beyond the 435 voting members, there are six non‑voting delegates representing the District of Columbia and U.S. territories; they are regularly referenced in lists of membership but they are not counted among the 435 voting seats ^[3]. Coverage of the 2026 races notes elections for those delegates alongside the 435 contests ^[1].

4. Vacancies and temporary changes — why “how many seats” can be misread

News and reference pages also report temporary vacancies within the 435 (resignations, deaths, special appointments), which can make contemporaneous tallies show fewer than 435 seated representatives at any moment — but those vacancies do not change the number of seats that exist or that are up for election in 2026 ^{[3] [7]}. Sources show examples of vacancies and special elections scheduled but still treat the total seats as 435 ^{[3] [7]}.

5. Redistricting and its limited impact on the total seat count

Several outlets discuss redistricting and map changes ahead of 2026; however, while redistricting can alter which party is favored in particular districts and can shift where seats are competitive, it does not increase or decrease the national total of 435 voting seats — it only reassigns which districts cover which populations ^{[6] [1]}.

6. What “majority” means practically for 2026 campaigning

Analysts repeatedly cite 218 seats as the tipping point for control of the House (the simple majority of 435), and major political committees and rating services frame their targets and strategies around that threshold for the 2026 midterms ^{[5] [4] [8]}. Ballotpedia and election trackers list how many seats each party must gain or defend relative to the 435-seat total ^{[2] [9]}.

7. Where reporting diverges or adds nuance

All provided sources agree on the 435 voting seats and six delegates, but they emphasize different angles: encyclopedic pages stress apportionment and redistricting ^{[6] [1]}, election trackers focus on which of those 435 are competitive or open ^{[2] [4]}, and member lists highlight short‑term vacancies that can make the chamber’s seated total fluctuate ^{[3] [7]}. No source in the packet claims a different overall count.

8. Limitations and what the available reporting does not say

Available sources do not mention any change to the statutory number of voting House seats for 2026 (for example, no proposal or law to change 435) beyond routine reapportionment after the census (not found in current reporting). They also do not assert that non‑voting delegates can cast decisive floor votes that would alter majority math — those delegates remain non‑voting in the House’s roll-call sense ^[3].

Bottom line: the authoritative, repeatedly cited figure across election previews, encyclopedias and trackers is 435 voting seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for 2026, plus six non‑voting delegates — with 218 seats constituting a working majority when the chamber is fully seated ^{[1] [2] [5] [3]}.